Three held for beating cab driver to death in Mumbai after his car brushes past their bike

The trio dragged the Ola driver out of his car and beat him up till he lay bleeding on the road, police said

The incident took place late on Monday on the Eastern Express Highway.

The Shivaji Nagar police have arrested three men for allegedly thrashing a cab driver to death on Eastern Express Highway in Govandi on Monday night, in a case of road rage.

According to the police, Ola cab driver Salim Gulam Shaikh had an altercation with the three men after his cab brushed past their Activa bike while overtaking it.

The accused have been identified as Imran Ali Shaikh, 19; Wajid Haider Idrisi, 20; and Bhondu Ali, 22. They were travelling on the Activa on Ahilyabai Holkar road.

Amogaiddha Olekar, sub-inspector of Shivaji Nagar police station, said Salim had been living with his wife and two sons, aged 10 years and nine months, in Govandi and working as a driver for the past few months.

On Monday, he dropped off his passengers at Sion and was on his way home when he accidentally brushed past the Activa, in an attempt to overtake it, near the Shivaji Nagar masjid. “The biker lost his balance and was about to fall. Angry, they signalled the driver to stop the car. The trio then began abusing Salim and dragged him out of the cab. They beat him up with their fists and legs. When they saw him bleeding, they ran off,” said Olekar.

Passers-by took Salim to a hospital where he was declared dead. “Salim had suffered injuries on his head,” said Olekar. After scanning CCTV cameras, the police learnt that the attackers were residents of the same area. “We are investigating if they were in an inebriated state,” said Santosh Narute, assistant inspector of Shivaji Nagar police station.